Chapter 744
“As I thought—my guess was right. He really did fully comprehend the entire formation first, and only then began breaking it!”
“Just one hour… and he completely fathomed the master’s Twenty-Seven Wuji Formation. This level of comprehension, this level of comprehension…”
“Could this little fellow be a living formation spirit by nature? Otherwise how could anyone possess such terrifying talent with formations?!”
After witnessing Lu Qing’s method of breaking the formation and the speed at which he cleared the checkpoint, the three ancient wills within the Immortal Palace were shaken to the core.
Even beings that had lived for hundreds of thousands of years, with knowledge as vast as theirs, had never seen a formation monster like Lu Qing.
In only one hour, he fully grasped the Twenty-Seven Wuji Formation created by their master, and then in mere dozens of breaths, casually cracked it.
Something like that—let alone in the present—would have been unthinkable even in the ancient era, that age of dazzling stars and peerless prodigies.
No one had ever accomplished it.
Not even the master’s former personal disciples.
And once the shock passed, a surge of wild joy followed.
Because the three ancient wills knew they had finally found a supreme genius worthy of inheriting their master’s legacy.
For a moment, driven by excitement, the very interior of the Immortal Palace trembled faintly.
“Ming Feng, should I directly shift this little fellow from the Formation passage into the Immortal Palace?” the aged voice asked.
“Let’s watch a bit longer.” The cold, clear voice hesitated, then shook its head. “Although this cultivator’s performance already makes him fully qualified to become the master’s personal disciple…
…the rules of the trial passage were set down by the master himself.
Unless the cultivator undergoing the trial can no longer endure it, or violates the rules, we are not permitted to interfere at will.
This Four-Tribulation Nascent Soul cultivator is still clearing checkpoints. Then we cannot interrupt casually.”
“Then we keep watching.”
“Agreed. It’s a good chance to see where this little fellow’s limit truly lies.”
Hearing this, the other two wills nodded in agreement.
Though the master had long since departed, the rules he established remained supreme.
So even though they desperately wanted to summon this Four-Tribulation Nascent Soul cultivator into the Immortal Palace immediately, the three ancient wills restrained the impulse and chose to continue observing.
It was also the perfect opportunity to see how far the boy could ultimately go.
“He actually cleared it…”
Within the third checkpoint space, Su Xingtu stared blankly at the spot where Lu Qing had vanished, looking utterly lost.
He didn’t know how to describe what he was feeling.
Just moments ago, he had watched with his own eyes as Lu Qing, at a speed beyond imagination, effortlessly cracked the final several layers of Formation Barrier.
Then, beneath the shroud of a pillar of light, Lu Qing broke through and entered the fourth checkpoint.
Su Xingtu couldn’t comprehend how Lu Qing had done it.
Could it be… he had seen this formation before, and already understood it completely?
But how was that possible?
Everything inside the Gui Xu Secret Realm was mysterious and unknown.
Even starry-sky overlords like the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect and Netherworld Palace couldn’t learn much about it.
How could a Five-Tribulation Nascent Soul possibly know the formations inside in advance?
If not, then there was only one explanation: that Five-Tribulation Nascent Soul possessed formation talent countless times more dazzling than Su Xingtu’s.
Thinking of that, and looking at the Formation Barrier before him—where he had only managed to break three layers—Su Xingtu’s gaze turned vacant.
He didn’t even know whether he should continue breaking the formation.
This world-famous formation genius, in this very moment, was experiencing doubt in his own talent for the first time.
Lu Qing had no idea that a peerless formation genius was nearly having his Dao Heart shattered because of him.
After reaching the fourth checkpoint, he was still trapped among countless Formation Barrier.
Only this time, the entire space contained him alone—no other cultivators remained.
Lu Qing looked at the Formation Barrier before him and directly activated his Spiritual Powers to investigate.
Very soon, a smile appeared on his face.
Just as he had expected, the formation space of the fourth checkpoint was still of the same lineage as the formations in the first three checkpoints.
If that was the case, then it was all but certain that the later checkpoints would be the same as well.
Lu Qing did not hesitate. He chose to download at once.
One hour later, as Lu Qing cracked the final barrier, the pillar of light appeared again. His figure vanished from the fourth checkpoint.
“Even the fourth checkpoint only took one hour…”
The three ancient wills within the Immortal Palace, seeing this, didn’t even know what to say anymore.
They knew very well that the formations of the fourth checkpoint were several times more profound than the third checkpoint’s Twenty-Seven Wuji Formation.
Yet this Four-Tribulation Nascent Soul cultivator still spent only one hour to completely break it.
But what happened next made the three ancient wills realize they had still underestimated him.
From then on, in every checkpoint that followed, Lu Qing spent at most one hour to fully crack the formation and swiftly pass through.
It was as if the so-called difficulty of formations simply did not exist for him.
No matter how complex a formation was, he could fully comprehend it within an hour, then promptly crack it.
No hesitation at all—so relaxed it hardly seemed like a trial, more like a leisurely outing.
Before long, he had already reached the eighth checkpoint.
Inside the Immortal Palace, a complete silence fell, lasting a long time without a single voice.
The three ancient wills simply kept their eyes fixed on Lu Qing as he comprehended, broke formations, and cleared checkpoints.
Everything was so easy it looked like eating and drinking.
Watching the formations their master had painstakingly created get popped one after another in the hands of a Four-Tribulation Nascent Soul cultivator as casually as bursting bubbles, the three ancient wills didn’t know what to feel. Their emotions were… complicated.
More importantly, their original estimate had been that Lu Qing could at best reach the fifth or sixth checkpoint.
After all, the formations beyond that were far too powerful, and the formation principles they contained were profoundly deep and obscure.
Even cultivators above the seventh tribulation might not be able to withstand the terrifying intent contained within.
Yet Lu Qing had charged straight to the eighth checkpoint, and they still hadn’t seen the slightest sign of strain from him.
This kind of formation talent—forget witnessing it—even in that star-bright ancient era, they had never even heard of such a thing.
And so, at this moment, the three ancient wills truly felt shock and joy, mixed with a faint sense of disbelief.
“By the master’s rules, the eight trial passages should intersect once at the fifth, seventh, and ninth checkpoints, so the cultivators in each passage can compete against one another,” the deep, bell-like voice finally said after a long silence.
“But judging by this little fellow’s clearing speed, the people in the other passages probably won’t even have a chance to run into him.”
It glanced at the other light screens. Even now, in the other trial passages, the fastest cultivator had only just entered the fourth checkpoint.
Compared to Lu Qing’s eighth checkpoint, the gap was enormous—there was no way to catch up.
“Good. Better they don’t meet.” The aged voice boomed. “Such a fine seedling—if some idiot from another passage hurts him by accident, this old dragon will explode!”
Its tone made no effort to hide its protective instinct.
Watching all the way through, it was already incomparably satisfied with Lu Qing.
In its heart, it had long since regarded Lu Qing as the most important personal disciple of their master.
If such a precious seedling were harmed by those fools from other passages, it didn’t dare imagine how furious it would become.
Old Canglong’s words weren’t entirely in line with the master’s rules.
But this time, the bell-like voice and the cold, clear voice rarely did not refute it.
Because they felt the same.
After waiting more than three hundred thousand years, they had finally found such a precious seedling—someone who might fully inherit their master’s formation legacy.
How could they bear to let him be harmed?
If anyone truly dared to attack Lu Qing, then even if it meant enduring punishment, they would interfere.
“The eighth checkpoint is cleared too,” the aged voice said a while later.
It didn’t need to explain. The other two wills had already seen it.
Within the light screen, after Lu Qing casually broke the eighth checkpoint formation, he was enveloped by the pillar of light and teleported into the ninth checkpoint.
By now, the three ancient wills’ attention was completely on Lu Qing.
Even if someone in the other trial passages occasionally cleared a checkpoint, it couldn’t draw even a trace of their interest.
“I wonder if he can break the ninth checkpoint too,” the aged voice said.
In the eyes of the other two wills, anticipation also surfaced.
Lu Qing’s formation talent was unprecedented—enough to make any formation genius pale in comparison.
But the ninth checkpoint of the formation trial passage was also extraordinarily special.
Its difficulty exceeded the combined difficulty of the first eight checkpoints by more than tenfold.
Because the formation of the ninth checkpoint surpassed the scope of the Nascent Soul Realm, and contained a trace of Dao-Integration realm intent—a terrifyingly powerful formation.
If Lu Qing could break even this formation, then his formation talent would truly have reached a level beyond comparison, peerless under the heavens.
As long as he grew without disaster, his future achievements would surely rise to an unimaginable height.
“Finally, the ninth checkpoint.”
In the ninth checkpoint space, Lu Qing’s figure appeared. Looking at the Formation Barrier layered around him like overlapping mountain ridges, he felt a hint of awe.
At the same time, he felt even more joy.
After comprehending the first eight checkpoints, he had already grasped most of the essence of the legacy hidden within this formation trial passage.
The understanding in his heart continued to ferment, on the verge of condensing into a truly profound inheritance.
He knew that once he finished comprehending the grand formation before him, he would complete the final missing piece of insight and truly obtain that legacy.
Lu Qing began observing the final grand formation that trapped him.
“As expected. This ninth formation consists of eighty-one Formation Barrier.”
Lu Qing wasn’t surprised. Several checkpoints ago, he had already discovered this pattern.
What did surprise him was the might of this final formation.
Even without it attacking him, he could still feel that every single barrier contained terrifying power that made his heart tremble.
He had an instinctive feeling that if this grand formation were triggered, then even a casual eruption from a single barrier could blast him into total annihilation.
Even with his current body—tempered through countless refinements and powerful beyond measure—he still could not withstand it.
“How does the might of this ninth formation feel even stronger than all eight earlier ones combined?”
Feeling the power on the barriers, Lu Qing’s scalp tingled.
He didn’t even dare probe inside with his Divine Soul Power.
If he did, his soul might not endure that vast might and would suffer a heavy blow.
“Is this really still a Nascent Soul Realm-level formation?”
The more he sensed it, the more shocked he became.
He even suspected that even a ninth-tribulation Nascent Soul great expert might not be able to withstand this formation’s might.
“Good thing my way of breaking formations is different from other formation masters.”
Lu Qing felt fortunate. Otherwise, relying only on his cultivation realm, it would have been impossible for him to reach this point.
After calming himself, he finally activated his Spiritual Powers and looked toward the Formation Barrier before him.
Not long after, several slips of information floated into view.
“So the ninth checkpoint’s formation is called the Nine-Nines Return to Origin Formation.”
Lu Qing looked at the information in his vision, nodded slightly, and then chose to download.
Downloading in progress. Current progress: 1%, 2%, 3%… 98%, 99%, 100%.
Download complete. Run simulation?
Lu Qing chose to simulate.
Soon, when the Spiritual Powers prompt indicated the simulation was complete and asked whether to begin learning, Lu Qing directly chose to learn.
In the next instant, he closed his eyes, and surging formation insights flooded up from the depths of his mind.
“He’s begun comprehending it.”
Within the Immortal Palace, when the three ancient wills saw Lu Qing close his eyes, their anticipation grew even stronger.
After watching him pass so many checkpoints, they already understood: once Lu Qing closed his eyes, it meant he was fully devoting himself to comprehending the formation.
And when he opened his eyes again, that would be the moment he began breaking the formation.
“I wonder how much time he’ll need this time. It can’t still be just one hour, right?” the bell-like voice said.
But the other two wills did not answer.
Because even they did not know.
And so, under the gaze of the three ancient wills, Lu Qing remained with eyes closed, immersed in comprehension.
One hour passed. He did not open his eyes.
Two hours passed. He still kept his eyes closed, comprehending.
Only after the third hour did Lu Qing slowly open his eyes.
Within them, it was as if countless formation runes flowed and turned, vast and unfathomable like the starry sky.
But very quickly, Lu Qing reined in that phenomenon.
“This ninth grand formation really does exceed the scope of the Nascent Soul Realm. It actually contains a trace of Dao-Integration realm intent—no wonder its might is so terrifying.”
Understanding dawned in Lu Qing’s eyes.
At this moment, he had completely comprehended the Nine-Nines Return to Origin Formation before him.
Not only that—he had also linked it together with the formations of the first eight checkpoints.
Nine grand formations of the same lineage, comprehended as one and mutually confirmed against each other…
…completed the final missing piece of the insight in his heart.
And a complete formation inheritance surfaced within him.
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